SECTION S

WEDNESDAY
MAY 19, 2010
thestar.com

ROUGH DAY FOR CANADA AT WORLDS

Team Canada edged by Czech Republic 3-2, now faces
must-win match with Russia, S4
Jeff Christie may have found a brew-tiful new career
when he retires from luge racing, S6
ON ON0

NHL EASTERN FINAL

Flyers silence Habs again

DAMIEN COX

Flyers 3 Canadiens 0
FLYERS LEAD SERIES 2-0

PHILADELPHIA

T
he telling moment came late
in the second period when
Mike Cammalleri, Monsieur
Automatic the entire spring for the
Montreal Canadiens, was handed
the puck in front of the Philadel-
phia net by a suddenly generous
Flyer defenceman Braydon Co-
burn.
Had that been Semyon Varlamov
in front of Cammalleri, that puck’s
in. Ditto for Marc-Andre Fleury.
Washington and Pittsburgh could
tell you all about how deadly the
former Michigan Wolverine can
be.
Instead of Varlamov or Fleury,
however, Tuesday night it was
Michael Leighton, the waiver-wire
pickup turned playoff hero, and
Cammalleri’s shot was turned
away. Easily.
Just like the other 57 shots Leigh-
ton has faced in registering back-
to-back shutout victories over the
Canadiens in the opening two
games of this one-sided Eastern
Conference final.
It sure seems like the magic has
evaporated in a hurry for the Cana-
diens. Maybe a trip back to Canada
will bring it back. Maybe being
giant underdogs was a better fit for
them.
But suddenly Cammalleri can’t
score, Jaroslav Halak can’t make
enough stops and P.K. Subban is
DAVID MAIALETTI/MCT looking like a rookie.
Canadiens’ Mike Cammalleri, right, looks on as Tomas Plekanec takes a stick to the head during scramble in front of the Flyers net in the first period. COX continued on S4

This is a different, and certainly better, Blue Jays crew

next eight games, too. They scored
Jays swing for records only 12 runs in the next seven loss-
es before that trip-ending disaster
Doubles Extra base hits Home runs in Baltimore, the B.J. Ryan-Brian
Wolfe extra-innings special, in
To date:
105
Ranked 1st in MLB Vernon
To date:
176
Ranked 1st in MLB
To date:
65
Ranked 1st in MLB
which they blew an 8-3 lead for
Wells leads Roy Halladay.
On pace for: 416 team with On pace for: 700 On pace for: 261 By that point, the season had
DAVE PERKINS MLB record: 373
50 hits
MLB record: 649 MLB record: 264 been effectively shot behind the
ear.

T
his is the point it all fell apart
for the Blue Jays in 2009.
The difference this time is
that Tim Wakefield’s knuckleball
isn’t waiting to mess them up.
The Jays hit the road for Seattle
after Tuesday’s kid-approved 11-2
blasting of the Minnesota Twins.
Their 24-17 record, equalling their
high-water mark of seven games
ON ON0
’97 and ’04 ’30
NOTE: Jays led the majors in doubles with 357 in 2003
over .500, is the fourth-best record
in the league, albeit a league in
which two of the three better
marks happen to decorate the
Jose
’03
Bautista
’97
has 11 HRs
BRETT LODGE/TORONTO STAR
same division. them down 2-1and, as Cito Gaston
One year ago through 41games, had often prophesized, that knuck-
the Jays were 27-14, then went into leball screwed up enough of them
Boston. There, Wakefield shut that they proceeded to lose their
No one knows what the immedi-
ate future will include, but it
doesn’t include Wakefield and his
floater, nor King Felix nor Cliff Lee,
the two arms certainly worth
avoiding in Seattle.
PERKINS continued on S8
JAYS: Power surge continues, S8